Theories of Aging
Nancy V. Karp, Ed.D., P.T.
nvkarp@gmail.com
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Theories of aging in describes aging from biological, physiological and psychosocial perspective and explain full life theories and mature life theories.
Typology: Slides
2021/2022
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Theories of Aging
Nancy V. Karp, Ed.D., P.T.
nvkarp@gmail.com
Objectives
This presentation will describe aging from both a
biological/physiological and a psychosocial
perspective.
Biological/physiological theories will be presented in
two main categories, program theories and error
theories.
Psychosocial theories will be discussed in two main
categories, full-life theories and mature-life theories.
Is There a Fountain of Youth?
What is Aging?
The gradual and spontaneous changes that
occur in maturation from infant to young adult.
These changes create a normal physiologic
decline seen in middle and late adulthood.
Changes during puberty
Graying of hair
Senescence
The process by which a cell looses its ability to
divide, grow, and function. This loss of function
ultimately ends in death.
A degenerative process, only.
Has no positive features.
Life Expectancy
Some Factors Influencing Your Life Expectancy
Heredity
Disease Processes
Medical Treatment
Lifestyle Choices
Nutrition
Theories of Aging
“The link between genes and lifespan is unquestioned. The simple observation that some species live longer than others -- humans longer than dogs, tortoises longer than mice -- is one convincing piece of evidence.”
The National Institute on Aging
The Two Main Aging Theory Categories
Programmed Theories Aging has a biological timetable or internal biological clock. Error Theories Aging is a result of internal or external assaults that damage cells or organs so they can no longer function properly.
Many theories are a combination of programmed and error theories.
Programmed vs. Error Theories
Programmed Theories
Programmed
Senescence Theory
Endocrine Theory
Immunology Theory
Error Theories
Wear and Tear Theory Rate-of-Living Theory Cross-linking Theory Free Radical Theory Error CatastropheTheory Somatic Mutation Theory
Programmed Senescence Theory
The result of sequential switching “off” or “on” of
specific genes.
Example – “Hayflick’s Limits”
- Fibroblasts removed from umbilical cord & cultured
- Fibroblasts divide and repeated until ~ 50 divisions
- Will not divide past this point
Telomeric Theory
This is an extension of the “Hayflick Limit.”
Telomeres are specialized DNA sequences at the end
of chromosomes.
- They shorten with each cell division.
- When the telomeres become too short, the cell enters the senescence stage.
In the normal process of DNA replication, the end of the
chromosome is not copied exactly, which leaves an
unreplicated gap.
Telomeric Theory
The enzyme, telomerase, fills the gap by
attaching bases to the end of the chromosomes.
As long as the cells have enough telomerase to
do the job, they keep the telomeres long enough
to prevent any important information from being
lost as they go through each replication.
- With time, telomerase levels decrease.
- With decreasing telomerase levels, the telomeres become shorter and shorter.